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U. H. METZ. HAND BEST FOR BOOKS.

Patented Oct. 2, 1883.

INVENTOR /6 m7 ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

CHARLES H. METZ, OF UTIOA, NEWV YORK.

HAND-REST FOR BOOKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 286,051, dated October 2, 1883. Application filed March 17, 1883. (ModeL) To all whom, it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES H. METZ, of Utica, in the county of Oneida and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Hand-Rest for Books, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of my invention is to provide a new and improved device for forming a convenient rest for the hand while writing on the pages of a book.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a book provided with my improved book-rest. Fig.

- 2 is a longitudinal elevation of my improved book-rest,- parts beingbroken and others shown in section. r

A spring-wire, A, is bent U shaped, with the prongs very close together, the ends of the prongs being beveled or tapered, so as to prevent the same from catching in the paper and tearing the same. A wire frame, B, has its ends passed around the wire A, to form a hinge.

- Pins 0 are passed through the wire A, to hold the frame B at the closed end of the U-shaped spring-wire A. A thin wooden plate, D, is held in the frame B, the wire forming the said frame passing into grooves in the edge of the wooden plate. In place of the wooden plate, a metal plate or piece of pasteboard can be secured to the frame B. The frame B can swing on the wire A.

For using the bookrest the spring-wire A is passed into the lower end of the book, so that one shank will rest on the adjoining edges of the pages, and the other shank will pass into the recess or hollow formed between the joint-piece of the cover and the inner united edges of the leaves, as shown in Fig. 1, whereby the wire A will be held to the book. The upper edge of the frame rests 011 the lower edge of the page, hand while writing. The frame B can be placed on the first or last pages, and always forms a good support for the hand.

The device does not injure the book, and can be attached and detached very easily and rapidly. It is also to be used as a support for the hand while writing on the lower parts of the pages.

and forms a support for the I am aware that it is not new to hinge a board to a U-clamp to form a handrest; but

What I do claim is- The combination of the spring-clamp A, having thepins O G, the wire frame B, having end eyes fitting on one arm of the clamp between said pins, and the rest D, grooved upon the edges of both sides, one end, and about the corners of the other end, as shown and described.

LoUIs 1. KAMMERLOIIR, EGBERT-BAGG, Jr. 

